The proportion of older adults in the population is increasing. Little is known about correlates of recovery in older adults after major thoracic or abdominal surgery. On the other hand, concerted efforts are being made to reduce health care costs by earlier discharges from hospitals. Pain and fatigue are frequently cited as occurring following discharge from the hospital for surgery. Older adults who are hospitalized or have physical illness are at increased risk for depression. The literature suggests that pain, fatigue and depression may be significant in recovery from major surgery, but their precise role needs to be established in order for nurses to institute appropriate, cost-effective interventions. Recovery from surgery is defined as a restoration of integrity in the context of Levine s Conservation Model. Within this model, pain, fatigue and depression are conceptualized as depleting energy and impairing integrity. The purpose of this research is to determine whether pain, fatigue and depression are significant factors in the return to functional status, and the self-perception of recovery after surgery in older adults. This is a longitudinal descriptive involving 100 adults, aged 60 years and over, who have had major thoracic or abdominal surgery at one of two community hospitals. Data will be collected through a face-to-face interview during hospitalization, and by telephone at one month, and three months after discharge using the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form, Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form, Modified Fatigue Symptom Checklist, Enforced Social Dependency Scale and Self-Perception of Recovery Scale. Demographic data will be collected during hospitalization. Chart data related to pain, fatigue, depression and health status will also be collected. Data analysis will include descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and multiple regression analyses. The long term objective is to provide critical information for the experimental testing of a nursing intervention for use by staff nurses in hospitals and community agencies to facilitate the recovery of older adults having major surgery.